NBA: Los Angeles Lakers get first win

Dwight Howard scored 28 points, Kobe Bryant had 15 points and eight assists, and the host Los Angeles Lakers finally got their first victory of the season, 108-79 over the winless Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.

Metta World Peace scored 18 points and Pau Gasol added 14 for the Lakers, who went 0-8 in the preseason and started the regular season 0-3 for just the fourth time in franchise history despite adding Howard and Steve Nash over the summer.

The Lakers' growing worries about their new offense and their roster's durability vanished for a day against the struggling Pistons, who never led.

Jonas Jerebko scored 18 points for Detroit.

Los Angeles took a 28-point lead in the first half and stretched it to 36 in the third quarter, with Howard dominating the paint and Bryant slipping easily into a playmaking role in the injured Nash's absence. Nash missed his second straight game with a small fracture in his left leg.

Los Angeles hadn't started a season 0-3 since 1978. That team won 15 of its next 16 games.